Friday, October 28, 2011

Squirrel Gravy

Squirrels should be cleaned and free of buckshot, stray fur and dirt.  Quarter them and place them in a pressure cooker.  Cover with salted water and cook at fifteen pounds pressure for twenty minutes. (My friend Mary Beth also says you can cook the squirrel all day long in your crockpot, instead)  Once the cooker has cooled down, remove the squirrel pieces, saving the broth.  Flour the squirrel quarters or roll them in your favorite chicken breader.  Fry until brown in bacon grease.  Meanwhile, bring the broth left in the pot back to a simmer.  Remove the squirrel from the frying pan and stir enough flour into the drippings to make a thin paste.  Slowly add the hot broth, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. Cook until smooth and thickened. I also added some milk.  Then season to taste and serve with the crisp fried squirrel.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Great Grape Pie

     You won't find this recipe in any cookbook because it's one I made up after a disappointingly runny grape pie.  It's very easy, like all of my favorite recipes and WOW is it tasty.  Kind of like a grape cobbler instead of a pie.  Delicious with icecream or just warm out of the oven.

4 cups of Concord grapes
1 1/2 cups sugar
Cook these together and boil for about five minutes, smashing and stirring with a potato masher.  Then run it all through a food mill, getting as much of it as you can and just leaving seeds and a little pulp/skins behind.

Add 1/2 cup of flour, 2 tsp of lemon juice (I've used red wine vinegar in a pinch), 1/8 tsp salt, and a cup of Bisquick or Jiffee mix.  Pour all of this into a pie shell.  Top with the following:

1/2 cup of oats, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour and a 1/4 cup of soft butter--mixed together until crumbly.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until set at 425 degrees!  Get ready to smile--it's that good!